The 2009 Cotes du Rhone, which comes from sandy and sandstone soils, is an equal part blend of Grenache, Syrah, and Mourvedre aged in concrete. It exhibits a medium dark ruby hue, silky tannins, and lots of tasty fruit and garrigue notes. Consume it over the next 1-2 years. Domaine Raymond Usseglio produced brilliant 2009s as well as very good 2008s. As long-time readers know, American importer Peter Weygandt chooses his own classic/traditional cuvee, named Cuvee Girard, for sale in America. I tend to have a slight preference for Weygandt's cuvee over the traditional offering sold elsewhere as it is bottled without fining or filtering, and I think the actual blend is slightly different. That said, it was almost impossible to see any difference in either the 2008 or 2009 offerings at this stage.Importer: Peter Weygandt, Weygandt-Metzler, Unionville, PA; tel. (610) 486-0800